NFL Vegas Preview: Steelers vs Lions Prediction, Odds and Pick

On Sunday night’s game of the week, the Pittsburgh Steelers travel to Motown to take on the Detroit Lions. The Steelers are coming off a solid divisional win over the Bengals, while the Lions are coming off a much needed bye week. Each team needs a win to position themselves for divisional contention and playoff seeding. Kickoff inside Ford Field is at 8:30 PM ET.

Pittsburgh Steelers vs Detroit Lions Preview and Vegas Betting Lines

Pittsburgh and the Lions haven’t played since November of 2013, which the Steelers won. In fact, Pittsburgh has won 4 straight games against Detroit dating back to 2001. In each of those games, the Steelers won by at least 8 points or more.

The Pittsburgh Steelers (5-2) are 1-1 against the NFC North Division on the season. They beat the Vikings in Pittsburgh, but lost to Chicago in overtime on the road. That was their only road loss this season as they won their 3 other road contests. This week, they look to improve to 6-2 on the season and get that important 4th road win of the year.

The Lions (3-3) are coming off a bye week and will be limited at the receiver position as Golladay has been ruled out and top receiver Golden Tate will most likely miss the game. The Steelers are already a tough defense to play against, so it’s definitely going to hurt the Lions offense by not having some key receiving weapons.

The spread opened with Detroit getting 3 points, and it remains unchanged. The Over/Under opened at 44.5 points, but has gone up to 45.5 total points.

Free Vegas Sports Bet and NFL Prediction: Pittsburgh Steelers -3

The Steelers defense is quite possibly the most underrated defense in the league. And, they are the reason that Pittsburgh will win in Detroit this weekend.

Pittsburgh has a top 5 ranked defense in yards allowed, points per game and passing yards per game. They’re also not that bad against the run. Bottom line, Detroit is going to have difficulties moving the ball against the Steelers on Sunday.

For the Steelers offense, they aren’t scoring as many points as seasons past (21ppg), but they do have playmakers at all of the key positions which will be tough for Detroit’s scrappy defense to match up with. The Lions are allowing just 94 ypg rushing, so they do have a chance to slow down Pittsburg’s star running back Le’Veon Bell who is heating up. During the month of October, Bell is averaging 126 rushing yards per game and nearly 1 TD per game. He’s also chipping in 37 receiving yards per game. The Steelers will need a solid game out of Bell to keep the Lions defense honest.

Detroit’s secondary is suspect, as they allow 260 passing yards per game. That’s good news for Big Ben and his crew, namely Antonio Brown who already has 52 receptions, 765 receiving yards, and 3 touchdowns on the season. I expect the Steelers to throw the ball a lot, in order to soften up the Lions’ front 7. Then they will hit Detroit with a heavy dose of Bell.

For the Lions offense, it’s most likely going to be a long day. They don’t have all of their offensive weapons and they’re going up against a really good defense. Additionally, Detroit is a one dimensional offense as they only average 84 rushing yards per game, which is near the bottom of the league. Stafford will do his best ti keep the Lions in the game, but they will fall short in any comeback attempt.

Pittsburgh is 4-2 ATS in their last 6 games and 7-3 ATS in their last 10 games. Detroit is 3-8 ATS in their last 11 games, 1-4 ATS in their last 5 home games, and 3-7 ATS during their last games between Weeks 5 through 9.

I expect the Steelers defense to keep the shorthanded Detroit Lions below their season average of 26.8 points per game. In fact, I think they will keep Detroit to right around 17 points, behind a strong defensive performance. Look for Big Ben to have early success in this game as the Steelers open up a big lead. They will then ride the legs of Bell for most of the second half and win this game 27-17.

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